Batman: The Animated Series
Episode 84
Deep Freeze
Mr. Freeze returns! Mr. Freeze’s introduction as a villain in BtAS was so well done it would be impossible to top. His second appearance isn’t as epic but it sure packs a punch. Grant Walker (a Walt Disney allegory) breaks Mr. Freeze out of prison in order to have him recreate the experiment that made him Mr. Freeze. Freeze initially refuses but is then bribed with his wife Nora Fries who’s still in suspended animation. Freeze cuts a deal to get his wife back and begins helping walker.
Walker’s plan is to destroy the world by freezing it using satellites (the same plot device used in the Batman and Robin live action film). The only people who will survive are his hardcore followers who live in the city he made. Batman and Robin who are trying to find Freeze after being busted out of prison make their way to Walker’s compound and discover his evil plans. They convince Freeze to help them stop Walker. Walker is defeated, Freeze and his wife (still in suspended animation) float off on an iceberg to parts unknown.
Ignoring the giant cult city just next to Gotham that no one talks about, the episode works. The parallels between Walt Disney and Grant Walker are abundant. Both own a series of amusement parks. Disney’s vision for Epcot Center was a large city cut off from the rest of the world. There are rumors Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen when he died and Walker is given the same frozen powers of Mr. Freeze. Disney and Walker have dangerously loyal and naïve cult followers. BtAS for some reason felt like taking a shot at Disney, perhaps it was rival animation studios or maybe Disney did something to thoroughly piss them off. We can only guess. But Grant Walker is truly one of the more evil villains in the series. His plan is very much like Ra’s al Ghul. But Ra’s crazy ideals are trying to save the world through decreasing the population and taking control as leader. Walker just wants to live forever and rule the world for his own power hungry purposes.
Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com